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Demographic and Health Surveys Phase 8(DHS-8): Physical and Sexual Violence by Spouse or Partner

The Demographic and Health Survey Phase 8 (DHS-8): Physical and Sexual Violence by Spouse or Partner includes 16 items from the Domestic Violence Module assessing women’s experiences of physical or sexual violence committed by a husband or male partner. These items ask about type of physical and sexual violence experienced, injuries due to physical and sexual violence, fear of spouse or partner, and the age at which forced sex by a spouse or partner was first experienced. Navigational aspects (i.e. skip-out patterns and next question sequences) have not been included on this page but can be viewed on the original questionnaire located here.

Categories

Geographies Tested: Afghanistan,Angola,Burkina Faso,Cambodia,Cameroon,Cote d'Ivoire,Ethiopia,Ghana,Guatemala,Guinea,Kenya,Madagascar,Mozambique,Myanmar (Burma),Nepal,Rwanda,Senegal,The Gambia,Zimbabwe

Populations Included: Female

Age Range: Adolescents, Adults

Items:

Did your (last) (husbandmale partner) ever do any of the following things to you:
 1. Push you, shake you, or throw something at you?
 2. Slap you?
 3. Twist your arm or pull your hair?
 4. Punch you with his fist or with something that could hurt you?
 5. Kick you, drag you, or beat you up?
 6. Try to choke you or burn you on purpose?
 7. Attack you with a knife, gun, or other weapon?
 8. Physically force you to have sexual intercourse with him when you did not want to?
 9. Physically force you to perform any other sexual acts you did not want to?
 10. Force you with threats or in any other way to perform sexual acts you did not want to?

Response Options:
Yes
No

 11. How often did this happen during the last 12 months: often, only sometimes, or not at all?

Response Options:
Often
Sometimes
Not in last 12 months

Did the following ever happen as a result of what your (last) (husbandmale partner) did to you:
 12. You had cuts, bruises, or aches?
 13. You had eye injuries, sprains, dislocations, or burns?
 14. You had deep wounds, broken bones, broken teeth, or any other serious injury?

Response Options:
Yes
No

 15. Are (Were) you afraid of your (last) (husbandmale partner): most of the time, sometimes, or never?

Response Options:
Most of the time afraid
Sometime afraid
Never afraid

 16. How old were you the first time you were forced to have sexual intercourse or perform any other sexual acts that you did not want to by any current or previous husband or male partner?

Response Options:
Age in completed years__ (2-digit numeric)
Don’t know

Scoring Procedures

Not Applicable

Original Citation

Demographic and Health Surveys (2019). Demographic and Health Surveys: Domestic Violence Module https://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-dhsq8-dhs-questionnaires-and-manuals.cfm?cssearch=137066_1


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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